Hydrodynamic coupling



Jan. 3, 195@ A. P. EMMER-l' HYDRODYNAMIC COUPLING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledApril 25, 1945 Jan. 3, 1950 A. P. EMMERT HYDRODYNAMIC COUPLING FiledApril 2-3, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fiz uelziar'" Emmer Patented 'Jan. 3,1950 HYDRODYNAMIC COUPLING Arthur P. Emmert, Muncie, Ind., assignor toBorg-Warner Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of IllinoisApplication April 23, 1945, Serial No. 589,889

7 Claims.

My invention relates to hydrodynamic coupling devices and moreparticularly to such coupling devices which function to 'nultiply thetorque between an input and an output shaft.

Hydrodynamic coupling devices generally comprise a pluralit of vanedmembers including a driving member and a driven member the drive betweenwhich is through a body of liquid. The vanes of these members impartenergy to and receive energy from the body of liquid. A fluid couplingwhich is not intended to multiply torque generally includes only twoelements while a hydrodynamic torque converter includes at least threevaned elements, a stator element which has a reaction force impressedthereon by the fluid and is held from rotation being the third element.Such hydrodynamic torque converters are shown, for example, in Schneideret a1. Patent No. 2,306,758, and Schneider et a1. Patent No. 2,333,680.

Considerable difficulty has been experienced in the past in assemblingthese hydrodynamic coupling devices and in particular these devices ofthe torque converter type. The vanes in the driving and driven elementsof the non-torque converting type are generally flat pieces of metalwhich are relatively simple to attach to the driving and driven members;however, the vanes in the members of a torque converting hydrodynamicdevice generally are curved and differ in thickness throughout theirlength and breadth. It has been found that the vanes of a torqueconverting hydrodynamic device may be made expeditiously by casting;however, this type of vane has proved quite difiicult to attach to thedriving, driven or stator members of the torque converter. This isparticularly true when the vanes are of a metal such as aluminum whichcannot be welded very well to these members, which are preferably steelstampings.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved arrangement andmethod for attaching the vanes to the members of a hydrodynamic couplingdevice, and it is more specifically an object to provide such anarrangement and method which is particularly advantageous for use withthe curved vanes of different cross-sectional thickness used in a torqueconverter.

It is another object of my invention to provide such an arrangement andmethod bymeans of which the vanes maybe mechanically attached to ahydrodynamic coupling element without the necessity of welding the vanesthereto. It is contemplated that the vanes may be of a metal such asaluminum which is easily cast, while the elements to which the vanes areto be attached are of a difierent metal, such as steel, to which it iscomparatively diiiicult to weld the vanes.

It is still more particularly an object of my invention to utilize ashell fitting within the outer casing of the hydrodynamic couplingelement through which shell the vanes extend and which has portions onthe edges of the openings for receiving the vanes overlying baseportions of the vanes for clamping the vane to the outer casing. Withthis arrangement it is contemplated that the vane preferably be locatedin the shell prior to a positioning of the shell in the casing, so thatwhen the shell is finally positioned, the vanes are held clamped inplace by the shell.

The invention consists of the novel constructions, arrangements,devices, processes and methods to be hereinafter described and claimedfor carrying out the above stated objects and such other objects as willappear from the following description of certain preferred embodimentsand methods for making the same illustrated with reference to theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an impeller or drivingelement of a hydrodynamic torque converter illustrating one embodimentof the invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the impeller as seen from the left inFig. 1 or from the inner side of the impeller;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on line 3-3 ofFig. 1 in the direction indicated;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional View of a portion of a turbine or drivenelement of a torque converter illustrating another embodiment of theinvention;

Fig. 5 is an elevational view of the turbine element as seen from theright in Fig. 4 or from the innerside of the element;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on line 66 in Fig.4 in the direction indicate-d; and

Fig. 7 is a sectional view also on an enlarged scale taken on line l-'!in Fig. 4 in the direction indicated.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in the several views.

Referring now to the drawings and in particular to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, theillustrated hydrodynamic torque converter impeller element is seen tocomprise an outer casing member H]. The casing member I 0 is a hollowshell and is annular, although only a portion of the com-- aseauo pleteshell is shown. A plurality of'impeller blades or vanes i I are disposedwithin the casing member and are in contact with the casing member atthe base edges I2 of the vanes. An inner core ring I5 is disposed incontact with the vanes on their opposite edges I4, and this core ring isalso a complete annulus and is concentric with the annular casing memberIII. Although just a limited number of vanes II are illustrated, it willbe understood that the vanes are equally spaced around the casing memberI and inner core ring I3 for the entire circular lengths of the corering and casing member.

The vanes II are located in the casing member III in their properequally spaced relation by means of a shell I which flts within themember III. The shell I5 is provided with a plurality of openings I6therein through which the vanes II extend, and the openings iii are sodisposed so as to hold the vanes in their proper location. The shell I5at the edges of its openings I6 is provided with flanges i1 as shown.The vanes II taper inwardly to a reduced cross-sectional thickness fromthe base edges I2 and at their base edges are provided with sidewardlyextending flanges II, as is shown particularly in Fig. 3. The flanges I1of the shell I5 overlie the flanges I5 on the vanes II and overlie thetapered sides Ila and Iib of the vanes, and the vanes are thereby heldwithin the casing member III. The shell I5 is welded to the casingmember III as at I9, and the shell, the vanes and the casing member IDare thus-made unitary, inasmuch as-the flanges I'I function to preventmovement of the vanes outwardly of the shell I5.

The vanes II are each provided with projections 20 which extend throughopenings 2i in the inner core ring I3, and the projections are rivetedover to fix the core ring to the vanes and thereby to the casing memberIII to form the complete impeller element. The casing member III nearits inner edge is providedwith a plurality of openings 22, and theimpeller element is thereby adapted to be attached to any suitabledriving hub (not shown) or the like for driving the impeller element.

The casing member III, the shell I5 and the core ring I3 are preferablystamped from'sheet steel while the vanes II are preferably cast inaluminum, for example. The impeller element is assembled by firstinserting the vanes II into and through the openings I6 in the shell I5while the shell is free of the casing member III to bring the flanges I5of the vanes intocontact with the flanges I1, substantially in therelative positions of the shell and vanes illustrated in Fig. 3. Theshell I5, holding the vanes II, and the casing member III are thereafterbrought together to lit the shell I5 in the casing member substantiallyas it is shown in the drawing, and the shell is then fixed, as bywelding, to the casing member. The vanes II are thereby flxed within theshell I5 and casing member III. The core ring I5 is thereafter placed inposition with the projections 25 on the vanes II extending through theopenings 2I in-the core ring, and the projections are riveted over so asto fasten the core ring to the vanes and thereby to the casing memberl5.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figs. 4 to '1 inconnection with a turbine or driven element of a hydrodynamic torqueconverter. The driven element comprises an outer hollow annular casingmember 25, an annular shell 25 fitting within the casing member, vanes21- disposed within the shell and casing memberandacoreringfl.Thebaseedgesfl ofthevanesflareinoonteetwiththe member 25, and the corering is in contact with the opposite or inner edges of the vanes, asshown. The vanes 21 taper inwardly from their bases as shown in Fig. 7similar to the vanes II- in the first embodiment of the invention, andthe shell 25 is provided with openings 20, the edges of which, in thecentral portions of the vanes as shown in Fig. '1, flt closely about thetapering sides 21a and 21b of the vanes. No flanges corresponding to theflanges is in the flrst embodiment are provided; however, due to thetight flt and the tapering sides of the vanes, the shell 25 functions tohold the vanes in the shell and casing member. Clearances 5i and 52 areprovided between the shell 25 and the vanes 21 at the ends of the vanes,and the shell 25 preferably fits tightly about the vanes only in thecentral portions of the vanes. The clearances have been provided due tothe fact that it is very dimcult to provide the proper openings in theshell for a good flt with the vanes at the ends of the blades due to thecurvature of the casing member and shell.

Although the shell 25 holds the vanes 21 within the shell and casingmember 25, in this embodiment projections "extending through openings 54in the casing member 25 are provided to act as additional holding means.These projections are riveted over the casing member 25, as shown. Theshell and easing member are welded together, as at 55. The vanes 21 areprovided on their inner edges with projections 55 which extend throughopenings 51 in the core ring 25, and these projections are riveted overto fix the core ring to the vanes and thereby to the shell 25 and casingmember 25. In this embodiment,

' the inner shell 25 instead of the outer casing member, as in the flrstembodiment, is extended inwardly to form an attaching flange 25 forcoupling the turbine element to any suitable hub (not shown); however,it is understood that either the outer casing member or the inner shellmay be used for this purpose.

This embodiment of the invention is assembled in a manner quite similarto that in which the first embodiment is assembled. The vanes 21 areflrst placed in the openings 25 of the shell 25 from the outer or convexside of the shell, and the casing member 25 and shell 25 are thenbrought together into proper relation with the projections 52 on thevanes extending through the openings 54 in the casing member 25, and thecasing member and shell 55 are welded together. The projections 53 arethen riveted over to form additional means for holding the vanes withinthe shell and easing member in addition to the tapered sides of theopenings 55 fitting tightly about the vanes. The core ring 25 is thenplaced in proper relation on the inner edges of the vanes 21 with theprojections 25 extending through the openings 21, and the projections 55are then riveted over to fasten the core ring to the vanes.

The inner shells I5 and 25 disposed in the outer casing members I5 and25 in the two illustrated embodiments of the invention advantageouslyhave a two-fold function. Firstly, the openings in the shells throughwhich the vanes extend function to properly locate the vanes in theshells and the casing members in an equally spaced relation and in theirproper angular dispositions relative to the shells and easing mem-'llbers. mlmshollsliandllfunctm skilled in the art that changes may bemade without departing from the principles of the invention. Inparticular I wish it to be understood that the invention is not to belimited to torque converting couplings to the exclusion of nontorqueconverting couplings, unless the claims are so limited. Furthermore Iwish it to be understood that although the first embodiment of theinvention is illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 in connection with an impellerelement and the second embodiment of the invention is illustrated inFigs. 4 to '7 in connection with a turbine element, the first embodimentmay be used in connection with a turbine element or any other vanedelement of a hydrodynamic coupling and the second embodiment may be usedin connection with an impeller element or any other vaned element of ahydrodynamic coupling.

I claim:

1. In a hydrodynamic coupling element, the combination of a hollowcasing member, a plurality of spaced relatively rigid vanes within saidmember, and a shell fitting within said member, said shell havingopenings therein for receiving said vanes for properly locating thevanes within the shell and hollow member, each of said vanes havingsurfaces at opposite sides of its end adjacent said member divergingtoward the latter and engaging complementary surfaces defining theopening in said shell receiving the vane whereby to provide a wedgeinterlock between the vane and shell preventing movement of the vaneaway from said shell.

2. A hydrodynamic coupling element comprising in combination, a hollowannular casing member, a plurality of spaced relatively rigid vaneswithin said member and each having one end thereof abutting said member,and an annular shell fitting within said member, said shell havingopenings therein for receiving said vanes for properly locating thevanes within the shell and hollow member, each of said vanes having itssaid end connected to the walls of the opening of said shell receivingthe same by a wedge interlock adapted to prevent movement of the vaneinwardly of said shell and member and providing the sole means forpreventing said movement.

3. In a hydrodynamic coupling element, the combination of a hollowcasing member, a plurality of spaced rigid metallic vanes within saidmember, and. a metallic shell fitting within and fixed to said member,said shell having inwardly flanged openings therein for receiving saidvanes and overlapping said vanes at its said openings for properlylocating the vanes within the shell and member and irictionally engagingsaid vanes for interlocking the latter to said shell.

4. In a. hydrodynamic coupling element, the

combination of a hollow casing member, a plu-,

ralityof spaced vanes within said member, and a shell fitting within andfixed to said member and having inwardly flanged openings therein forreceiving said vanes, said vanes being tapered from their base edgesadjacent said member to their opposite edges and said shell at saidopenings overlapping the tapered faces of said vanes for thereby fixingthe vanes within the shell and member.

5. A hydrodynamic coupling element comprising in combination, a hollowannular casing member, a plurality of spaced vanes within said member,and an annular shell fitting within said member, said shell havingopenings therein for receiving said vanes, said openings providing aclearance between the vanes at their ends and the shell and overlappingthe vanes intermediate the ends of the vanes for thereby fixing thevanes within the shell and hollow member.

6. A hydrodynamic coupling element comprising in combination, a hollowannular casing member, a plurality of spaced vanes within said member,an annular shell fitting within said member, said shell having openingstherein for receiving said vanes and overlapping base edges of the vanesat the edges of said openings for fixing the vanes within the shell andmember, and an inner core ring in contact with the opposite edges ofsaid vanes and riveted to the vanes, said vanes also being riveted tosaid casing member.

'7. A hydrodynamic coupling element comprising in combination, a hollowannular casing member, a plurality of spaced rigid metallic vanes withinsaid member and each having an end in engagement with said member, anannular metallic shell fitting within said member and fixed thereto,said shell having openings therein for receiving said ends of saidvanes, each of said ,vanes being disposed in a plane at one side ofARTHUR P. EMMERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS v Date Number Name 2,295,926 Boesger Sept. 15,1942 2,302,095 Bartch Nov. 17, 1942 2,315,235 Weidner et al Mar. 30,1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 365,817 Great Britain Jan. 28,1932

